Hen party before the wedding: Let it rip!

The bachelorette party is a popular wedding custom, where the bride and groom and their friends have a great time before the wedding – and I mean it quite literally. Because at the bachelorette party, old porcelain is smashed on the floor to wish the bridal couple luck. According to old superstitions, the loud banging drives away evil spirits and the many broken pieces stand for luck and fertility.

When and where is the bachelorette party?

Traditionally, the wedding-eve party takes place one or two days before the wedding. In order to be fresh and cheerful on the wedding day, you can also organize the bachelorette party one to two weeks earlier. Where you celebrate depends a bit on the number of guests and your wedding budget . If there are many bachelor guests, it makes sense to rent a hall. The costs for this are on average around 150 to 200 euros; but between 70 and 100 people can be accommodated. It can be celebrated a little smaller and more informally at home, in your own garden or in the classic way in the house of the bride’s parents. A little tip: put away valuable vases and crockery so that nothing breaks in the heat of the moment that was not intended.

Who is invited to the bachelorette party?

A wedding celebration is not cheap and in order to stay within the budget, did you have to do without one or the other wedding guest? The bachelorette party offers the opportunity to invite guests who cannot come to the wedding or are missing from the guest list. Of course, close friends and relatives are also welcome. There are usually no official invitations to the bachelorette party. A simple email, phone call or word of mouth is enough. There are also cheap postcards that invite you to a bachelorette party with a funny saying or a little poem.

What is there to eat at the bachelorette party?

Of course, the fun company would also like to be provided with food and drinks, although you shouldn’t throw yourself into the expense. Simple dishes are enough, which fill many people up late in the evening. Popular classics are cold buffets with salads and sandwiches or a barbecue evening. Hearty soups and stews, which you can prepare in advance and simply warm up later, are also well suited for the bachelorette party. We have a few tips for you:

• Especially with a large group, catering for the guests is a lot of work, which a party service will be happy to relieve you of. Rolls, salads and other delicacies are delivered fresh and on time, and crockery is often provided as well. Find out about offers in your area and enjoy your bachelorette party without any kitchen work.
• Ask friends and family for support to keep work and costs to a minimum. With a few helping hands, bread can be spread faster or maybe one or the other can contribute a salad to the buffet.
• In addition to the food, the drinks should not be missing. Since it is often not clear in advance how many guests will be there and how much will be drunk, it is advisable to buy the drinks on commission. In the end, you only pay for what has been used. The remaining bottles go back to the beverage retailer.

Games and customs at the bachelorette party

The main event of the evening is of course the smashing of old crockery, vases or other things made of clay and porcelain. “Shards bring luck” says the proverb. But please no broken glass or mirrors, which old superstition assumes exactly the opposite. There are a number of other traditions at the bachelorette party:

• The pants have to burn: A popular part of the bachelorette party is a custom in which the groom has to take off his pants and have them burned. The burning trousers stand for the end of the bachelor period. A similar task awaits the bride, who must “sacrifice” either a shoe or her bra. The bra is burned and the shoe is nailed to a board as a sign that the marriage is lasting. Incidentally, the ashes of the burned clothing are buried in the garden with a bottle of schnapps, which is drunk a year later together with the stag guests.
• The bridal couple creates order: At the classic bachelorette party, the bride and groom sweep up and remove the shards together. Cleaning up together is symbolic of the bond between the spouses. A little tip: Anyone who bangs hard will later have difficulties disposing of the waste in the normal household waste. Rent a container and simply have the shards transported away.
• Games for the bachelorette party: At a bachelorette party, small games lighten the mood and ensure a good mood. Popular are search games or guessing games, such as a “marriage quiz”. Bride and groom sit back to back and have to prove how well they know each other. To questions such as “What color is your soon-to-be wife’s eyes?” or “Who wears the pants in the relationship?” Both write their answers on a pad and then they are compared. You can find more game ideas that are also suitable for the wedding party in our article “Wedding Games” .

Are you still not sure about the bachelorette party? Maybe a fun groomless bachelorette party is more your style. You can find lots more tips and information about wedding planning in our Wedding special .